Leonardo Vinci
Leonardo Vinci | |
---|---|
Born | Leonardo Vinci 1690 |
Died | 27 May 1730 |
Occupation | Composer |
Leonardo Vinci (1690 – 27 May 1730) was an Italian composer known chiefly for his 40 or so operas; comparatively little of his work in other genres survives.[1] A central proponent of the Neapolitan School of opera,[2] his influence on subsequent opera composers such as Johann Adolph Hasse and Giovanni Battista Pergolesi was considerable.[3]
Life and career
He was born at
Music
Vinci's opere buffe, of which Li zite 'ngalera (1722) is generally regarded as the best, are full of life and spirit; his opere serie, of which Didone Abbandonata (Rome, 1726) and Artaserse (Rome, 1730) are the most notable, have an incisive vigour and directness of dramatic expression praised by music historian Charles Burney. According to Burney,
"Vinci seems to have been the first opera composer who, without degrading his art, rendered it the friend, though not the slave to poetry, by simplifying and polishing melody and calling the audience's attention to the voice part by liberating it from fugue, complication, and labored contrivance. ".
— Charles Burney, A General History of Music (1789)[8]
The well-known aria "Vo solcando," from Artaserse, is a good example of his style.[1]
Works
Operas
- Le doje lettere (1719)
- Lo cecato fauzo (1719)
- Lo scagno (1720)
- Lo scassone (1720)
- Lo Barone di Trocchia (1721)
- Don Ciccio (1721)
- Li zite 'ngalera (1722)
- La festa di Bacco (1722)
- Publio Cornelio Scipione (1722)
- Lo castiello sacchiato (1722)
- Lo labberinto (1723)
- Semiramide (1723)
- Silla dittatore (1723)
- L'Eraclea (1724)
- Farnace (1724)
- La mogliera fedele (1724)
- Turno Aricino (1724)
- Ifigenia in Tauride (1725)
- La Rosmira fedele (1725) also known as Partenope (1725)
- Il trionfo di Camilla (1725)
- Elpidia (1725)
- L'Astianatte (1725)
- Didone abbandonata (1726)
- Siroe, Re di Persia (1726)
- L'asteria (1726)
- Ernelinda (1726)
- Gismondo, Rè di Polonia (1727)
- La caduta dei Decemviri (1727)
- Il Medo (1728)
- Catone in Utica (1728)
- Flavio Anicio Olibrio (1728)
- Alessandro nell'Indie (1729)
- Farnace (1729)
- La Contesa dei Numi (1729)
- Massimiano (1729)
- Artaserse (1730)
Other works
In addition to operas, Vinci wrote a few
Selected recordings
- Fileno – Soprano Cantatas Mesta Oh Dio, tra queste selve. Mi costa tante lacrime. Amor di Citerea. Parto, ma con qual core. Emanuela Galli & Francesca Cassinari, Stile Galante, Stefano Aresi. With work wrongly attributed to Vinci by Alessandro Scarlatti Fille, tu parti? Oh Dio! Pan Classics 2011.
- In 2015 Decca released a Parnassus Arts Productions recording of his 3-act opera seria, Catone in Utica (Rome, 1728).[9]
Notes
- ^ See note 51 in Markstrom (2007, pp. 341–342) for discussion on the uncertainty surrounding the portrait.
- ^ Markstrom (2007, p. 344) noted that "..causes, such as poison. Although the story of Vinci's poisoning cannot be proven, it cannot be disproved, as is the case of similar stories connected with the deaths of Pergolesi and Mozart. Because we have this story from several reliable authorities without any obvious contradictions, one must let the story stand as is, within the realm of possibility."
References
- ^ a b Markstrom 2001, "2. Works".
- ^ Britannica 2021, "Introduction".
- ^ Markstrom 2001, "Introduction".
- ^ Markstrom 2001, "1. Life".
- ^ Markstrom 2007, pp. 233–235.
- ^ Markstrom 2007, p. 330.
- ^ Markstrom 2007, p. 344.
- ^ Markstrom 2007, "passim".
- ^ "Vinci, Leonardo: Catone in Utica". Presto Music. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
Sources
- Markstrom, Kurt (2001). "Vinci, Leonardo". ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membershiprequired)
- Markstrom, Kurt Sven (2007). The Operas of Leonardo Vinci, Napoletano. Hillsdale: Pendragon Press. ISBN 978-1-57647-094-7.
- "Leonardo Vinci | Italian composer". Encyclopædia Britannica. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 1 January 2021.
External links
- Free scores by Leonardo Vinci at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
- The Mutopia Project has compositions by Leonardo Vinci
- Arte TV broadcast of the 2022 Bayreuth production of Alessandro nel Indie